How to ask someone's racial/ ethnic background without being sound racist?
For example, you met someone in a cosmopolitan city where most people come from different background although they were born and raised in that country and speak the same language natively, you want to learn about his/her ethnic background ?
1.Direct Question
Would you mind if I asked your ethnic background?
2.Question with referring to
Do you have any Italian kinship? You know a lot about Italy.
In case someone may be half Italian , half other ethnic or only his grandpa/ grandma may be Italian.
Best Answer
I agree with Joe Dark's comment: Where is your family originally from?
Additionally, I'll say that a lot depends on the tone of the question. I'm curious about accents, and often ask a person if I can't place his/hers. But knowing that this can be a sensitive issue for some, I often couch the question in some tentativeness:
For what you want to ask, I'd go with something like what you propose:
Asking in advance for pardon and giving a reason to be asking will help, particularly if you're showing a genuine interest.
But in general, I think you're on the right track simply by being aware that this can be a sensitive question.